Fri. Nov. 14 & Sat. Nov. 15

There are some bands that want to be top of the pops. T Max - the publisher of the local rock mag the Noise and leader of Sgt. Maxwell's Peace Chorus - achieved another goal: The band's song, "Children of America," hit No. 1 on Neil Young's "Living With War" chart. It comes from "The Military EP" CD. Sgt. Maxwell celebrates Saturday Nov. 15 at the Cultural Exchange Center in East Boston. Says T Max, of the chart-topping status: "I worship Neil Young's music and what he has does for the anti-war movement. When I first saw the Peace Chorus sitting in the number one position on his chart I thought I was hallucinating - we were at #267 the week before. Nothing much ruffles my feathers, but this one shook me — it's the ultimate pat on the back for the combination of music and peace activism that has become my life."
How did this all come together?

"Sgt. Maxwell's Peace Chorus evolved out of a massive anti-war media event on April 15, 2007," says T Max, "that brought together 44 of Boston's top vocalists (including John Powhida, Emily Grogan, Casey Desmond, Corin Ashley, and Mick Mondo) and a star-studded 13-piece band that included members of Mission of Burma, Morphine, and Rick Berlin. This group of artists recorded 'End War Now' in front of the media in a party-like atmosphere. When the event ended, the spirit didn't. More anti-war material was composed."
The war may have been pushed to second place in people's minds because of the wretched economy, but Max says, "There are still people dying in Iraq so there is need to keep the subject of a wrongful war in the face of the public. Sgt. Maxwell's Peace Chorus does exactly that. This form of entertainment is the way to bring people together to air their thoughts and feelings about a subject that seems too easy to ignore."  Ttickets for Saturday's show are $10. Doors are at 7 and they'll play a couple of sets. 

Cultural Exchange Center, 80 Border St. E. Boston 617-418-5060 www.80borderstreet.org